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Survivors of Korean Ferry Recall a Sharp Turn, Then Chaos Survivors of Korean Ferry Recall a Sharp Turn, Then Chaos
(about 3 hours later)
JINDO, South Korea — It was a trip that 325 second-year students at Dawon High School had been eagerly awaiting, a last chance for fun before a grueling year of studying for South Korea’s university entrance exam. Soon after their ship left the port of Incheon on Tuesday night, students celebrated by launching fireworks from the deck. JINDO, South Korea — It was a trip that the second-year students at Danwon High School had been eagerly awaiting, a last chance for fun before a grueling year of studying for the national university entrance exam. Soon after their ship left the port of Incheon on Tuesday night, the students celebrated by launching fireworks from the deck.
About 12 hours later, everything went terribly wrong. Their ferry, the 6,825-ton Sewol, bound for the resort island of Jeju, tilted to the left shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday and began sinking in the blue-gray waters off southwest South Korea. About 12 hours later, everything went terribly wrong. Their ferry, the 6,825-ton Sewol, bound for the resort island of Jeju, tilted to the left for as-yet-unexplained reasons shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday and began sinking in the blue-gray waters off southwest South Korea.
More than 24 hours later, with bad weather having largely stymied a second day of search operations, 287 people from the ferry — most of them Dawon students — were still missing and feared dead. On Thursday afternoon, the confirmed death toll remained at nine, but just 179 of the 475 people believed to have been on the ferry had been rescued. Rain, strong currents and poor visibility underwater hampered the efforts of divers from South Korea’s Navy and Coast Guard to search the sunken ship. There were 325 students among the 475 people believed aboard the ship, and more than 24 hours later, with bad weather having largely stymied a second day of search operations, 285 passengers were still missing and feared dead.
It is unclear why the Sewol leaned so far to the left before sinking, and why so many aboard the ship had been unable to escape, even though it took nearly two and a half hours for the vessel to capsize and all but disappear underwater. A series of interviews Thursday with survivors, relatives, crew members and investigators offered a vivid picture of how the trip turned into a catastrophe, and possibly into South Korea’s worst disaster in decades. As of Thursday evening, the confirmed death toll was at 11, and just 179 passengers had been rescued. Rain, strong currents and poor visibility underwater hampered the efforts of divers from South Korea’s Navy and Coast Guard to search the sunken ship.
It is unclear why the Sewol leaned so far to port before sinking, and why so many aboard the ship were unable to escape, even though it took nearly two and a half hours for the vessel to capsize and all but disappear underwater. Interviews on Thursday with survivors, relatives, crew members and investigators offered a vivid picture of how the trip turned into a catastrophe, and possibly into South Korea’s worst disaster in decades.
“The government floundered, unable even to count the number of those missing correctly,” the country’s leading conservative daily, Chosun Ilbo, which has been mostly supportive of the government of President Park Geun-hye, said in an editorial on Thursday. “Above all, the people must have felt deeply that South Korea is a country that doesn’t value human lives.”“The government floundered, unable even to count the number of those missing correctly,” the country’s leading conservative daily, Chosun Ilbo, which has been mostly supportive of the government of President Park Geun-hye, said in an editorial on Thursday. “Above all, the people must have felt deeply that South Korea is a country that doesn’t value human lives.”
It cited “unspeakable mistakes and errors” in the ship’s operation and rescue efforts. It cited “unspeakable mistakes and errors” in the ferry’s operation and in the rescue efforts.
“Bring my child back alive!” some parents shouted on Thursday when Ms. Park visited an indoor gymnasium on the island of Jindo, 11 miles from where the ferry sank, that officials turned into a temporary shelter for the families of the missing. Ms. Park promised “all available resources” would be put into the rescue efforts, and “a thorough investigation and stern punishment for those responsible.” “Bring my child back alive!” some parents yelled on Thursday, when Ms. Park visited an indoor gymnasium on Jindo Island, 11 miles from the site of the sinking, that local officials had turned into a shelter for grieving families. Ms. Park promised “all available resources” for the rescue, and a “thorough investigation and stern punishment for those responsible.”
According to survivors, the ship began tilting after the students finished breakfast Wednesday morning. According to survivors, the students were having a morning break after breakfast, roaming through the floors in small groups and taking pictures on the deck, when the ship began tipping over.
“I don’t remember that there was any safety instruction before we boarded the ship,” said Kim Su-bin, 16, a Dawon student who survived by climbing out of the sinking ship and jumping into the water. “Life jackets were on the fourth floor where the sleeping cabins were, but those who were on the third floor at the time had no life jackets.”
When the situation became critical, survivors said, many students were still on the third floor, where the cafeteria and game rooms were.When the situation became critical, survivors said, many students were still on the third floor, where the cafeteria and game rooms were.
Han Hee-min, another 16-year-old student, said that all had gone smoothly until he felt “the ship turning too sharply” around 9 a.m. Wednesday. “I don’t remember that there was any safety instruction before we boarded the ship,” said Kim Su-bin, 16, a Danwon student who climbed out of the sinking ship and jumping into the water. “Life jackets were on the fourth floor where the sleeping cabins were, but those who were on the third floor at the time had no life jackets.”
Investigators who questioned the ferry’s captain, Lee Jun-seok, 69, on Thursday said the vessel had made a sharp turn to the left around the time it began to tilt. The Sewol had been sailing slightly off its usual course, they said, and Mr. Lee had apparently tried to steer it back. But it was unclear why he had attempted such a turn in waters known for their strong currents, or why the turn had caused the ship to lean to one side. Han Hee-min, another 16-year-old student, said all had gone smoothly until he felt the ship “turning too sharply” around 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Investigators who questioned the ferry’s captain, Lee Jun-seok, 69, on Thursday said the vessel had made a sharp turn to the left around the time it began to tilt. The Sewol had been sailing slightly off its usual course, they said, and Mr. Lee had apparently tried to steer it back. But it was unclear why he had tried such a turn in waters known for their strong currents, or why the turn had caused the ship to lean to one side.
The captain, in a brief appearance before reporters Thursday, provided little clarity. “I can’t raise my face before the passengers and family members of the missing,” he said. Officials have said Mr. Lee, who has been criticized for being among the first to leave the ship, could face criminal charges.The captain, in a brief appearance before reporters Thursday, provided little clarity. “I can’t raise my face before the passengers and family members of the missing,” he said. Officials have said Mr. Lee, who has been criticized for being among the first to leave the ship, could face criminal charges.
An investigator, who said he could not speak for attribution before the government had reached its final conclusions, said it was possible that the ferry’s cargo — which included 180 trucks and cars and more than 1,100 tons of cargo in shipping containers — had not been tied down properly. “That might have loosened them and caused them to slide to one side when the ship made its turn, and helped cause the ship to tilt out of control,” the investigator said. An investigator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the government had not yet reached its final conclusions, said it was possible that the ferry’s cargo — which included 180 trucks and cars and more than 1,100 tons of cargo in shipping containers — had not been tied down properly.
Inside the ship, chaos unfolded, survivors said, as wall and floor seemed to exchange positions. Bottles and dishes overturned. The ship’s twisting stairways suddenly became almost impossible to negotiate. At some point, survivors said, the lights went out. “That might have loosened them and caused them to slide to one side when the ship made its turn, and helped cause the ship to tilt out of control,” the investigator said.
“When the ship began tilting, there was a thudding noise and I thought it was the noise made by students bumping into the walls,” Han Hee-min said Thursday in a hospital in Ansan, the city south of Seoul where Dawon High School is situated. Inside the ship, chaos unfolded, survivors said, as a wall and the floor seemed to exchange positions. Bottles and dishes overturned. The ship’s twisting stairways suddenly became almost impossible to negotiate. Passengers were tossed to one side as if they were riding a slide. Trays and soup bowls overturned, said Song Ji-cheol, a college student who worked part time at the cafeteria.
Grainy video footage made with a smartphone, and sent to a relative while the ship was sinking, showed frightened passengers huddled in the corner of a room as a voice on the ship’s intercom urged passengers to “stay inside and wait because the cabins are safer.” “The gas burst and all of a sudden, we were submerged,” he said. “I tried to hold on to the tables but they were moving around, too.”
The ship’s communications officer, Kang Hae-seong, 32, said that he and a colleague, Park Ji-young, who was found dead on Wednesday, had been forced to make a quick decision. They thought that if passengers fled in a panicked rush, it could make matters worse, he said. At some point, some survivors said, the lights went out.
“I repeatedly told people to calm themselves and stay where they were for an hour,” he said from his hospital bed in Jindo. “I didn’t have time to look at the manual for evacuation.” “When the ship began tilting, there was a thudding noise and I thought it was the noise made by students bumping into the walls,” one passenger, Han Hee-min, said Thursday in a hospital in Ansan, the city south of Seoul where Danwon High School is situated. “I had a life jacket so I floated. Some friends grabbed my leg and I don’t know what happened to them.”
Shin Seong-hee, a Dawon student, was among those who heeded the advice. In a text message she sent to her father, she said she had been told by the ship’s crew that “it was more dangerous to move.” Her father texted back: “I know the rescuers are coming but why don’t you try to come outside?” Grainy video footage made with a smartphone, and sent to a relative while the ship was sinking, showed frightened passengers huddled in the corner of a room as a voice on the ship’s intercom urged people to “stay inside and wait because the cabins are safer.” Another student, Gwon Ji-hyuck, 16, said he heard that broadcast. Sixtyto 70 students clogged a narrow corridor while their teacher shouted at them to remain calm, he said.
“I can’t because the ship is tilting too much,” she said, in a text that was shown to a reporter by her sister, Shin Seong-ah, on Thursday. Shin Seong-hee has not been heard from since. “My teacher distributed life jackets to the last minute and led us calmly,” said Han Sang-hyuk, 16, in tears, referring to Nam Yun-cheol, one of the two teachers found dead.
Another student, Shin Yong-jin, texted to his mother: “Mom, I say this now because I may never be able to say it: I love you.” He made it out of the ship. Han Sang-hyuk, a student, blamed the ship crew’s instruction for the high number of missing people, saying that those who stayed in their rooms or were caught in small alleyways between corridors would not have been able to escape. But Kim Su-bin, the Danwon student who survived by climbing out of the ship, thanked Park Ji-young, a member of the crew who was found dead on Wednesday, for calming the students and staying behind without a life jacket after helping students get out.
The Jindo gymnasium was a caldron of emotion on Thursday. Hundreds of mothers, fathers and relatives sat dejectedly on the floor, some wrapped in blankets. Some shrieked and collapsed, and were tended to by medical workers. The ship’s communications officer, Kang Hae-seong, 32, said he and Ms. Park had to make a quick decision. They thought that if passengers fled in a panicked rush, it could make matters worse, he said. Mr. Kang said the ship’s crew had studied the manual on fire drills but never had an evacuation simulation. Few of the ship’s 60 life rafts were used.
“I repeatedly told people to calm themselves and stay where they were for an hour,” he said from his hospital bed on Jindo. “I didn’t have time to look at the manual for evacuation.”
Shin Seong-hee, a Danwon student, was among those who heeded the advice. In a text message she sent to her father, she said she had been told by the ship’s crew that “it was more dangerous to move.” Her father texted back: “I know the rescuers are coming but why don’t you try to come outside?”
“I can’t because the ship is tilting too much,” she replied in a text that was shown to a reporter by her sister, Shin Seong-ah, on Thursday. Shin Seong-hee has not been heard from since.
Another student, Shin Yong-jin, texted to his mother: “Mom, I say this now because I may never be able to say it: I love you.” Mr. Shin made it out of the ship.
The indoor gymnasium on Jindo Island was a caldron of emotion on Thursday as desperate parents waited to hear news of their children.
Hundreds of mothers, fathers and relatives sat dejectedly on the floor, some wrapped in blankets. Some shrieked and collapsed, and were tended to by medical workers. The police were investigating fabricated lists of survivors circulating online that gave parents false hopes.
At one point, a police officer came to apologize for delays in a plan to pump oxygen into the sunken ship, in case some passengers were still alive. “You liar!” a father shouted at the police officer, before jumping onto the podium and punching and kicking him.At one point, a police officer came to apologize for delays in a plan to pump oxygen into the sunken ship, in case some passengers were still alive. “You liar!” a father shouted at the police officer, before jumping onto the podium and punching and kicking him.
“My child is alive in there!” the man shouted repeatedly until he was hauled away by other parents.“My child is alive in there!” the man shouted repeatedly until he was hauled away by other parents.